Date: 10/10/2003
Source: Ministry of Public Enterprises
Title: Radebe: Nafcoc Annual General Meeting
NAFCOC AGM 2003: "BUSINESS UNITES TO ACCELERATE EMPOWERMENT, CREATE JOBS, AND
ERADICATE POVERTY": CONFERENCE KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY JEFF RADEBE, MP, MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, 10 October 2003
This is not the first time that leading representatives of black business in South Africa have gathered in concert with political, labour and civil society leaders to discuss core issues of concern for South Africans generally. Nor, I hasten to add, will it be the last time we meet like this precisely because the nature of economic development requires constant assessment and relies on real partnerships to address pressing issues.
This conference and its workshop sessions however, form the backdrop to an important event, namely Nafcoc's Annual General Meeting (AGM) where delegates will work through a tough agenda, identifying goals, practical targets, and electing leadership to take the organisation through the next year. May I thus be so bold as to suggest that a primary reason for convening a conference before the AGM is to invite labour, civil society and politicians to suggest straightforward advice, assistance, criticism and to identify the challenges each constituency represented here believes are specific to the black business community in all its various forms. Indeed, government would expect no less from an organisation such as Nafcoc to be an enthusiastic and willing listener to the concerns of those who as often appear to be present-day victims of business practices rather than as nebulous beneficiaries of business sometime in the future.
It has been a year now since we last gathered to mark the beginning of a new era for Nafcoc under a new leadership and with strong resolve to settle differences that had disrupted efforts to build unity within the black business community. Neither government nor Nafcoc were under any illusions then that major challenges remained, nor indeed are we ignorant of the fact that although much good work has been done, the year has proven too short to deal with everything you set yourselves last year.
Despite the challenges of the recent past, where threats of splintering compromised unity talks with other facets of business in South Africa, Nafcoc appears to have weathered these storms and has prevailed even while many misguidedly moved to pronounce its death. For this everyone in Nafcoc and all its members deserve our congratulations.
We have referred often to the fact that Nafcoc's history as the original voice of black business in South Africa stretches back in time. Its pioneering spirit in the dark days of deliberate exclusion through apartheid laws, of being snubbed by white business, of being derided as not being able to make the grade, has ensured that during the 39 years of its formal existence, it has grown steadily, both in numbers and influence, to become a universally recognised voice that can speak authoritatively on behalf of black business without fear of challenge or contradiction.
The need for a formal voice representing black business derives not from a desire to centralise everything, or to exert control over each and every business entity that appears on the scene. It is not driven either from a desire to establish a kind of business closed shop, that refuses entry or participation by newcomers. The need for such organisations grows out of the reality of the competitive environment in which we all find ourselves. Organisation is a mechanism that allows for opinion sharing towards common goals. It provides a forum in which different views and opinions can develop the nuance needed to engage government, civil society and labour. It enhances our ability to canvass in effect the widest community of interests through representative structures.
And so Nafcoc's own constitution, its structures and its procedures and processes must reflect the transparency that emphasises the legitimacy of popular representation. Its membership must be known and acknowledged as such; its leadership entrusted with responsibility through clearly pronounced mandates and elections. Nafcoc is not beyond these requirements and, most important, is well advanced towards achieving them.
The organisation is now showing vital signs of life, with respected and visionary leadership in the forefront of its efforts. Everything points to its ability to extend its effectiveness to greater levels. This renewal has taken form through a number of initiatives, not least of which include the formation of Nafcoc empowerment clubs, the Nafcoc road shows that saw the involvement of SOEs and the establishment of national and central databases.
But, like a tree, the branches that bring new life and fruit find their source from the stem and roots that go deep into the ground. Today we commend the pioneering stalwarts of yester-year, for in them we identify some of the first architects of black empowerment before that term even achieved its current definition. History and tradition and culture ensured however that these pioneers, in the main, were men. The structures of capitalism ensured that they were located in urban areas and cities. Today, through the implementation of broad-based empowerment policies on the back of very clear and definitive foundations of the democratic assault against discrimination in all its forms and wherever it may rear its head, the opportunity, nay, the requirement and the challenge to extend empowerment to women, the disabled and the marginalized is urgent.
Once again, it is worth stating quite clearly that whilst the business community deliberates on how best to take advantage of these opportunities, it keenly remembers that black economic empowerment must have concrete meaning and a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people, on workers, on communities, on the aged, crosses the divide between downtrodden and poor rural areas and somewhat better-off urban areas. An important consideration then is to ensure that the discussions of today's conference, on job creation, on eradicating poverty, and so on, carries over into the business of the AGM itself and cascades into the individual businesses and entities that make up Nafcoc.
It is the responsibility of the Nafcoc men and women of today, to actively assist the young and teach them enterprise, discipline, self-reliance and responsible citizenship. Nafcoc should seek to set itself up as a serious engine for job creation. These new jobs should be created within the transformed framework of the legislation and ethic of equity and fairness that has come to characterise the South African workplace.
Nafcoc should also ensure that it can support all its members, large or small, and drawn from various sectors of our larger economy. It is a fact that not all of black business is at the same level. However, this chamber has to have a spirit of brotherhood that continues to enable both the magnates who strike deals worth hundreds of millions, to retain links and work with those struggling to leverage investment worth tens of thousands, and assist them, all within the Nafcoc family.
Such visionary cooperation and self-reliance can only happen if talented leadership is identified at all levels and supported. With winds of change blowing strongly and the environment of business rapidly transforming, loyalty to the ideals and origins of the organisation should also be fiercely maintained and preserved.
A strong Nafcoc is critical to government's determination to banish poverty and make wealth and well-being a not uncommon feature of black life in South Africa. In this regard, government is standing ready with many opportunities that require massive investment and an appetite and muscle for investment; not only in the country, but also the region and continent. This is a pertinent need as the although many of the state's long-term projects appear at first to be typically capital intensive, we must not follow the temptation to take short-cuts and reduce our emphasis on extending labour intensive methods of work, production and operation as central themes in the development of our country.
I need to restate that government's available investment opportunities are of the type requiring firstly, commitment to the ideals an African renaissance and secondly, a strong regional, continental and international trade exchange mentality. On other occasions I have stressed that government expects our SOEs, when they operate in Africa, that they promote similar principles to what we expect here in South Africa. Namely, that they should not be seen as external economic brutes who take advantage of local conditions alone: they must strive to empower communities and SMMEs in African countries, explore joint ventures and operate with unimpeachable ethics and propriety. Because at the end of the day the shortcomings and challenges our own country faces in a globalised context are loudly evident in Africa as a whole. So there can be no lip service to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) from the private sector in South Africa either, and it is pleasing to note the whole-hearted manner in which many of our black business entrepreneurs have taken up the challenge.
The fruit of all these collective endeavours should then become manifest in the broader economy, with black business taking up large stakes in the economy. I daresay the period for this window of opportunity is not unlimited. As government matures its processes on the restructuring of SOEs, black business in South Africa should regularly be at the starting line of responses to these opportunities.
Sun City. A place of dreams. A place of pleasure and escapade. A tribute to the power of the human imagination. If you can make the waves of the sea come and lap in the middle of the African bushveld, then truly, anything is possible. It is in Africa that such miracles happen. Peace achieved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and most recently, the signing-in of the new government of President Domitien Ndayizeyi and Mr Pierre Buyoya of Burundi, defied the oracles of the prophets of doom. It is again at Sun City, that we look to business to seal its unification.
In recent years, regional and continental unity and cooperation initiatives in the form of bodies and programmes such as African Union, Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community and NEPAD, have defied stereotypes that cast Africa as a place of despair. Against this backdrop, the merger of the four leading chambers of business in South Africa marks another historical milestone in the journey of the African Renaissance.
For government, these mergers provides it with strong sector partners with which it can engage on pertinent issues such as poverty, employment, black economic empowerment, trade and investment, as these are the cornerstone issues that arose out of the recently held growth and development summit.
With the formation of a unified voice for business in South Africa, government is pleased that the country has at last seen the end of racial characterisation in a critical sector of our society. Successfully brokered partnerships like these need to be widely publicised as proudly South African achievements and products. This will surely boost our country's reputation and provide us with role models that are sorely lacking.
In conclusion, I don't think I can be accused of exaggeration if I suggest that there are many who have grown tired of workshops that dissolve into mere talk-shops, or that many of us suffer from a peculiarly South African affliction akin to conference fatigue brought on by repetitious and often self-congratulatory discussion. Let us not belittle the enormous gains we have all made during this first decade of democracy in our country, but at the same time let us not be blind to the many hurdles that we have had to cross to get here, and that the journey towards justice and security in the community, the workplace, in cities and towns and rural settlements and farms, is far from complete. So my appeal would be that we all approach the discussions in the workshop sessions with a keen desire not simply to explore familiar territory but strive to identify new ways of understanding common problems and teasing out new possibilities and solutions.
For further comment contact Ms Lesego Mncwango on 082 908 0124
Issued by: Ministry of Public Enterprises
10 October 2003
Source: Ministry of Public Enterprises
Title: Radebe: Nafcoc Annual General Meeting
NAFCOC AGM 2003: "BUSINESS UNITES TO ACCELERATE EMPOWERMENT, CREATE JOBS, AND
ERADICATE POVERTY": CONFERENCE KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY JEFF RADEBE, MP, MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, 10 October 2003
This is not the first time that leading representatives of black business in South Africa have gathered in concert with political, labour and civil society leaders to discuss core issues of concern for South Africans generally. Nor, I hasten to add, will it be the last time we meet like this precisely because the nature of economic development requires constant assessment and relies on real partnerships to address pressing issues.
This conference and its workshop sessions however, form the backdrop to an important event, namely Nafcoc's Annual General Meeting (AGM) where delegates will work through a tough agenda, identifying goals, practical targets, and electing leadership to take the organisation through the next year. May I thus be so bold as to suggest that a primary reason for convening a conference before the AGM is to invite labour, civil society and politicians to suggest straightforward advice, assistance, criticism and to identify the challenges each constituency represented here believes are specific to the black business community in all its various forms. Indeed, government would expect no less from an organisation such as Nafcoc to be an enthusiastic and willing listener to the concerns of those who as often appear to be present-day victims of business practices rather than as nebulous beneficiaries of business sometime in the future.
It has been a year now since we last gathered to mark the beginning of a new era for Nafcoc under a new leadership and with strong resolve to settle differences that had disrupted efforts to build unity within the black business community. Neither government nor Nafcoc were under any illusions then that major challenges remained, nor indeed are we ignorant of the fact that although much good work has been done, the year has proven too short to deal with everything you set yourselves last year.
Despite the challenges of the recent past, where threats of splintering compromised unity talks with other facets of business in South Africa, Nafcoc appears to have weathered these storms and has prevailed even while many misguidedly moved to pronounce its death. For this everyone in Nafcoc and all its members deserve our congratulations.
We have referred often to the fact that Nafcoc's history as the original voice of black business in South Africa stretches back in time. Its pioneering spirit in the dark days of deliberate exclusion through apartheid laws, of being snubbed by white business, of being derided as not being able to make the grade, has ensured that during the 39 years of its formal existence, it has grown steadily, both in numbers and influence, to become a universally recognised voice that can speak authoritatively on behalf of black business without fear of challenge or contradiction.
The need for a formal voice representing black business derives not from a desire to centralise everything, or to exert control over each and every business entity that appears on the scene. It is not driven either from a desire to establish a kind of business closed shop, that refuses entry or participation by newcomers. The need for such organisations grows out of the reality of the competitive environment in which we all find ourselves. Organisation is a mechanism that allows for opinion sharing towards common goals. It provides a forum in which different views and opinions can develop the nuance needed to engage government, civil society and labour. It enhances our ability to canvass in effect the widest community of interests through representative structures.
And so Nafcoc's own constitution, its structures and its procedures and processes must reflect the transparency that emphasises the legitimacy of popular representation. Its membership must be known and acknowledged as such; its leadership entrusted with responsibility through clearly pronounced mandates and elections. Nafcoc is not beyond these requirements and, most important, is well advanced towards achieving them.
The organisation is now showing vital signs of life, with respected and visionary leadership in the forefront of its efforts. Everything points to its ability to extend its effectiveness to greater levels. This renewal has taken form through a number of initiatives, not least of which include the formation of Nafcoc empowerment clubs, the Nafcoc road shows that saw the involvement of SOEs and the establishment of national and central databases.
But, like a tree, the branches that bring new life and fruit find their source from the stem and roots that go deep into the ground. Today we commend the pioneering stalwarts of yester-year, for in them we identify some of the first architects of black empowerment before that term even achieved its current definition. History and tradition and culture ensured however that these pioneers, in the main, were men. The structures of capitalism ensured that they were located in urban areas and cities. Today, through the implementation of broad-based empowerment policies on the back of very clear and definitive foundations of the democratic assault against discrimination in all its forms and wherever it may rear its head, the opportunity, nay, the requirement and the challenge to extend empowerment to women, the disabled and the marginalized is urgent.
Once again, it is worth stating quite clearly that whilst the business community deliberates on how best to take advantage of these opportunities, it keenly remembers that black economic empowerment must have concrete meaning and a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people, on workers, on communities, on the aged, crosses the divide between downtrodden and poor rural areas and somewhat better-off urban areas. An important consideration then is to ensure that the discussions of today's conference, on job creation, on eradicating poverty, and so on, carries over into the business of the AGM itself and cascades into the individual businesses and entities that make up Nafcoc.
It is the responsibility of the Nafcoc men and women of today, to actively assist the young and teach them enterprise, discipline, self-reliance and responsible citizenship. Nafcoc should seek to set itself up as a serious engine for job creation. These new jobs should be created within the transformed framework of the legislation and ethic of equity and fairness that has come to characterise the South African workplace.
Nafcoc should also ensure that it can support all its members, large or small, and drawn from various sectors of our larger economy. It is a fact that not all of black business is at the same level. However, this chamber has to have a spirit of brotherhood that continues to enable both the magnates who strike deals worth hundreds of millions, to retain links and work with those struggling to leverage investment worth tens of thousands, and assist them, all within the Nafcoc family.
Such visionary cooperation and self-reliance can only happen if talented leadership is identified at all levels and supported. With winds of change blowing strongly and the environment of business rapidly transforming, loyalty to the ideals and origins of the organisation should also be fiercely maintained and preserved.
A strong Nafcoc is critical to government's determination to banish poverty and make wealth and well-being a not uncommon feature of black life in South Africa. In this regard, government is standing ready with many opportunities that require massive investment and an appetite and muscle for investment; not only in the country, but also the region and continent. This is a pertinent need as the although many of the state's long-term projects appear at first to be typically capital intensive, we must not follow the temptation to take short-cuts and reduce our emphasis on extending labour intensive methods of work, production and operation as central themes in the development of our country.
I need to restate that government's available investment opportunities are of the type requiring firstly, commitment to the ideals an African renaissance and secondly, a strong regional, continental and international trade exchange mentality. On other occasions I have stressed that government expects our SOEs, when they operate in Africa, that they promote similar principles to what we expect here in South Africa. Namely, that they should not be seen as external economic brutes who take advantage of local conditions alone: they must strive to empower communities and SMMEs in African countries, explore joint ventures and operate with unimpeachable ethics and propriety. Because at the end of the day the shortcomings and challenges our own country faces in a globalised context are loudly evident in Africa as a whole. So there can be no lip service to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) from the private sector in South Africa either, and it is pleasing to note the whole-hearted manner in which many of our black business entrepreneurs have taken up the challenge.
The fruit of all these collective endeavours should then become manifest in the broader economy, with black business taking up large stakes in the economy. I daresay the period for this window of opportunity is not unlimited. As government matures its processes on the restructuring of SOEs, black business in South Africa should regularly be at the starting line of responses to these opportunities.
Sun City. A place of dreams. A place of pleasure and escapade. A tribute to the power of the human imagination. If you can make the waves of the sea come and lap in the middle of the African bushveld, then truly, anything is possible. It is in Africa that such miracles happen. Peace achieved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and most recently, the signing-in of the new government of President Domitien Ndayizeyi and Mr Pierre Buyoya of Burundi, defied the oracles of the prophets of doom. It is again at Sun City, that we look to business to seal its unification.
In recent years, regional and continental unity and cooperation initiatives in the form of bodies and programmes such as African Union, Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community and NEPAD, have defied stereotypes that cast Africa as a place of despair. Against this backdrop, the merger of the four leading chambers of business in South Africa marks another historical milestone in the journey of the African Renaissance.
For government, these mergers provides it with strong sector partners with which it can engage on pertinent issues such as poverty, employment, black economic empowerment, trade and investment, as these are the cornerstone issues that arose out of the recently held growth and development summit.
With the formation of a unified voice for business in South Africa, government is pleased that the country has at last seen the end of racial characterisation in a critical sector of our society. Successfully brokered partnerships like these need to be widely publicised as proudly South African achievements and products. This will surely boost our country's reputation and provide us with role models that are sorely lacking.
In conclusion, I don't think I can be accused of exaggeration if I suggest that there are many who have grown tired of workshops that dissolve into mere talk-shops, or that many of us suffer from a peculiarly South African affliction akin to conference fatigue brought on by repetitious and often self-congratulatory discussion. Let us not belittle the enormous gains we have all made during this first decade of democracy in our country, but at the same time let us not be blind to the many hurdles that we have had to cross to get here, and that the journey towards justice and security in the community, the workplace, in cities and towns and rural settlements and farms, is far from complete. So my appeal would be that we all approach the discussions in the workshop sessions with a keen desire not simply to explore familiar territory but strive to identify new ways of understanding common problems and teasing out new possibilities and solutions.
For further comment contact Ms Lesego Mncwango on 082 908 0124
Issued by: Ministry of Public Enterprises
10 October 2003
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
